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Demian Weigle accused of trying to kill family of three with house fire

By Pierrette J. ShieldsLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
03/25/2013 05:42:58 PM MDT

Updated:
03/25/2013 05:44:12 PM MDT

BOULDER -- Demian Weigle smiled through much of the testimony at his preliminary hearing on three counts of attempted murder and first-degree arson in Boulder County Court on Monday morning.

However, following testimony from Longmont's fire marshal and a detective, Boulder County Judge Noel Blum ruled that prosecutors have enough evidence to pursue charges against the man accused of setting his neighbor's home on fire on July 16 to try to kill the family of three inside.

"The people have met their burden establishing probable cause," Blum said, and set Weigle's case for arraignment on May 10 in Boulder District Court.

Demien Weigle

An arrest warrant affidavit for Weigle, 42, indicated that the man, after starting to use a drug called "bath salts" that he bought online, suffered increasing levels of paranoia that his neighbor was tracking him electronically.

Defense attorney Beth Kelley argued that the evidence against her client was circumstantial and did not include witnesses, DNA, fingerprints or any other evidence placing Weigle at the scene. But Blum said that the type of evidence doesn't matter and that taken as a whole in a light more favorable to the prosecution, as required at this stage in the criminal prosecution process, there was plenty for prosecutors to pursue.

Weigle told police after he was arrested that he was in Wyoming at the time the fires were started at the front and back doors of his neighbor's home at 534 Bowen St., and he provided receipts with times before and after the 5:32 a.m. fires.

However, Detective Wayne Rafferty testified that detectives were able to drive from the location in Wyoming to Longmont and back to Wyoming in time to account for the time stamps on the receipts.

Kelley argued that the detective's timeline doesn't match the times calculated by Google maps.

"The timing as the detective testified is very suspicious or circumspect," Kelley said.

Police searched a hotel room in Wyoming where Weigle said he was staying the night before the fire, and Rafferty said that an arson dog alerted on a number of items that might have had ignitable fluids on them. Lab tests later did not confirm the presence of the fluids, but the detective noted that the lab reports did not rule out the presence of the fluids, either.

Rafferty also said that Weigle's wife approached an officer at the scene of the fire and said that her husband may have had something to do with it.

The neighbors -- a couple and their 2-year-old son -- woke during the fire and escaped through a window with the assistance of another neighbor.

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